Apple AirPods Shipments Expected to Double in 2018

Apple’s AirPods are soaring—and will reach even greater heights next year, one analyst said.

In a note to investors on Monday, KGI Securities analyst Ming-Chi Kuo said that AirPods shipments in 2018 will double this year’s figure and grow to a range of 26 million to 28 million. While Kuo didn’t say how many units Apple will ship in 2017, his prediction of “100% year-over-year” growth implies the company will ship between 13 million and 14 million units this year. Kuo’s note was earlier reported on by MacRumors, which obtained a copy of it.

Apple AirPods wireless earbuds hit store shelves in December 2016. Soon after their release, the AirPods became one of the hottest products Apple sells and quickly sold out. Only recently AirPods saw their expected ship dates from the point of ordering reduced to one to three days.

Kuo suggested that Apple could have sold even more AirPods in 2017, if not for a combination of heavy demand and supply problems. However, Kuo said that Apple has addressed supply problems by moving to a new China-based assembler named Luxshare that has increased manufacturing capacity. Looking ahead, that will only benefit Apple, Kuo said.